The Silent Stage roared. Gepo moved brutally, as if punching a live body bag, unleashing a deadly combination of fists that created high-pressure shockwaves. His left and right arms swung alternately, darting with terrifying precision. Yet, the swordsman remained unfazed. He evaded with minimal movement, without shifting even the tip of his foot from his stance.
"Is this all you've got, Last Week's Champion?" the swordsman challenged, his eyes still tightly shut. He tilted his head slightly, letting a powerful punch that almost shattered his face pass right through the empty air. "How could someone with such mediocre skills survive a week in the arena?"
Gepo stopped and leaped backward. "You have a sharp tongue. But is your blade as sharp as your words?" he challenged deliberately, leaving his body wide open without defense as if daring to be slashed.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING? GEPO HAS STOPPED ATTACKING!" the commentator's voice thundered through the loudspeakers. "LOOK AT THE SPECTATORS CHEERING! THIS IS IT, THE LONG-AWAITED POSE OF THE CHAMPION IS FINALLY OUT!"
"GEPO!! GEPO!!" the cheers of the crowd shook the arena in unison.
Kacuk's attention, which had been momentarily diverted, returned to the arena. As someone who had placed a massive bet on the swordsman, he joined the raucous cheering. However, his cheers were not for Gepo, but to encourage his chosen fighter.
Beside him, the woman with the mole named Mira smiled thinly, etching a mysterious line across her face. "Wipe that lecherous look off your face," her words were drowned out by the shouts; the fight captivated Kacuk's attention far more than her sexy body. Her eyes flashed red, contrasting with her sweet yet lethal smile.
"You old geezer! You're ignoring me, huh?" Mira suddenly pinched the crazy mechanic's stomach playfully yet firmly.
"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Le-let go, Mira! Ouch... ouch... ouch!" Kacuk shrieked.
In the center of the arena, the swordsman began to pose, raising his weapon high as if ready to execute the opponent before him. His eyes, which had been closed all this time, now snapped wide open, flashing a sudden crimson glare. Without warning, he lunged forward, passing Gepo's body as fast as lightning. The sound of his devastating slash cleaved through the crowd's roar, instantly turning the atmosphere dead silent.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" The Silent Stage suddenly fell completely still.
The commentator screamed hysterically again after a few seconds of pause, "AN INVISIBLE SLASH! HE JUST SLASHED GEPO! BUT IT TURNS OUT, THE TITLE OF 'THE IRON MAN' IS NOT A MERE MYTH! GEPO IS NOT INJURED IN THE SLIGHTEST!"
The thunderous roar of the crowd exploded once more, shaking every corner of The Silent Stage as they chanted Gepo's name.
The swordsman widened his eyes for a moment upon hearing the commentator's words. Instead of being annoyed, he smiled with satisfaction. He turned around and bowed respectfully. "Apologies for my previous words. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Han, and I come from a faraway place. I heard a rumor about someone who managed to survive in The Silent Stage for a week, and anyone who can defeat him will receive a massive prize."
"What? It didn't work!" Kacuk screamed from the spectator stands. In an instant, he forgot the pain in his stomach caused by Mira, who was still trying to tear his skin apart. "Damn that Iron Man!" he grumbled in disappointment, fearing his bet would go completely bust due to Gepo's resilience.
"You really are a stubborn old geezer," Mira twisted her fingers tighter into Kacuk's stomach. "Follow me, there's something important I want to discuss!" Without releasing her lethal lock on the old man's belly, Mira dragged Kacuk forcefully out of the stands.
"Ouch, ouch, ow, ow!" Kacuk winced in pain, forced to follow Mira's footsteps away from the crowd.
***
Meanwhile, far on the western outskirts of the Forbidden City, the rumble from the direction of The Whispering Ruins whispered faintly, carried by the night wind. The forbidden area was filled with giant creeping roots originating from an ancient tree, whose canopy covered almost half the sky of the refuge city. The moonlight was entirely unable to pierce through the gaps of its thick branches, leaving a pitch-black darkness that cut visibility to absolute zero.
Black stopped his gasping steps, his hand instantly drawing his trusty dagger. He pressed his body flat, hiding behind the ruined wall of an old building that used to be a past shopping center.
"What was that sound?" he whispered warily.
Slowly and silently, Black climbed to the upper section of the collapsed building. From that high vantage point, he looked up and found that behind the shadow of the massive tree, the silhouette of The Whispering Ruins glittered like a pile of jewels from afar.
"There it is... I must move quickly before they find me," he muttered.
However, before he could leap down, a devastating vibration came from behind, making the hair on the back of Black's neck stand up in horror.
BOOM!
It wasn't an explosion from the direction of The Silent Stage. It was a pure shockwave slamming against the city boundary. The vibration traveled fast, spreading through the network of creeping roots that covered half the sky of The Whispering Ruins. The giant leaves above his head rustled violently, shedding ancient dust that was hundreds of years old.
Black, who was balancing on the roof of the old building, was instantly startled. his hunter's instinct screamed hysterically, signaling a massive danger. As he turned his head, the cold fog shrouding the area was suddenly ripped apart by force.
A massively sized silhouette walked casually through the darkness. On the sturdy shoulders of the burly figure, a giant axe gleamed sharply, reflecting the glow of the distant city neon lights. Each footstep of one of the high-ranking officials of The Abyss made the ground Black stood upon vibrate constantly.
"You little PETERUMMAN rat... Did you think this garbage dump could hide the foul stench of the treasure you carry?" A baritone voice, heavy and filled with intimidating pressure, echoed amidst the concrete ruins.
Black cursed behind his iron mask, which was beginning to crack. Damn it, the Axe Giant—Gopis—moved far faster than all his calculations! Without a second thought, Black leaped down from the building's ceiling, rolled over the root-covered ground, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him toward the only safe haven: The Whispering Ruins.
He had to reach the center of the refuge city. There, an absolute iron law applied: violence was strictly forbidden except inside the match arena. If he successfully blended into the crowd of thousands of spectators at The Silent Stage, Gopis wouldn't be able to execute him just like that without triggering the wrath of the city's ruler.
"Run if you can, rat!" Gopis shouted gleefully. Laughing wildly with madness, he spun his giant axe and threw it. The heavy weapon whizzed through the empty air, chasing Black's back at the speed of the wind.
"Damn it... Damn it! How dare you call me a rat!" Black cursed. His fists clenched tightly, yet he had absolutely no intention of slowing his pace.
Whieee!
The sharp whooshing sound from behind made his lethal instinct ignite. Black's pupils suddenly glowed brightly behind his iron mask. Realizing the deadly threat was right at the back of his neck, Black threw his body forward, leaping with all his might to the side at the last crucial second.
BOOM!
A devastating explosion roared again, shaking the outskirts of the Forbidden City. The giant axe directly hit the remnants of the multi-story building behind Black, triggering a blast of debris that instantly leveled the thick concrete structure to the ground. Black managed to escape the deadly strike that had almost split his body in two.
"This is all... Tiger's fault!" he ranted thoroughly while getting up and resuming his run without losing any speed. "DAMN IT!" he screamed, shaking the silence of the night.
"Hahaha! You certainly are slippery, Rat! But let's see if you can dodge this one!"
Gopis smirked widely while pulling his giant axe back out of the ruins. With a single stamp of his foot so incredibly powerful that it cracked the ground's surface, the burly body launched into the air. In just the blink of an eye, Gopis was airborne, cutting off the escape path and positioning himself right above Black's head.
Utilizing the gravitational momentum from the height, Gopis channeled all his inner energy into both arms. He swung the giant axe downward with massive destructive power, ready to cleave his target's body into two pieces without leaving a trace.
Black looked upward. The wind from the axe's slash from the sky was so dense it felt as if it were tearing his face apart. And at that critical split second... the expression behind Black's iron mask suddenly changed completely.